A Bartlett man was found guilty but mentally ill Friday in the stabbing death of his 93-year-old mother in 2019, according the DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office.
The verdict against Edward Mitzelfeld, 69, formerly of the 700 block of Bryn Mawr Avenue, was handed down by Judge Daniel Guerin following a seven-day bench trial that ended March 22, a news release said.
Mitzelfeld was charged with five counts of first-degree murder in connection with the May 29, 2019, death of his mother, Frances Kelly.
Bartlett police officers arrived at Kelly’s home to find Mitzelfeld in the front yard with his hands raised, the release said. Kelly was discovered lying face down on the kitchen floor, stabbed numerous times in the back with a kitchen knife, her aorta severed and her lungs punctured, the release said.
“This is a tragic case that has surely taken a tremendous toll on Frances’ and Edward’s entire family,” State’s Attorney Robert Berlin said in a statement. “It is my sincerest hope that with the trial now behind them, Frances’ surviving family and friends will somehow be able to gain some measure of closure on this horrible chapter in their lives and remember Frances for how she lived and not how she died.”
Mitzelfeld’s next court appearance is scheduled for May 10.
